There are not many Christian Democrats on the following Sunday who would also like to speak publicly about Friedrich Merz.
Only Daniel Günther, whose skepticism towards the Sauerlander is no secret, at best takes a tiny mince when asked about the future of the losing candidate for the party chairmanship.
It is forbidden, said Schleswig-Holstein's Prime Minister WELT, to deal with a defeat as Merz did this weekend.
“Politics,” says Günther, “also requires a little humility and respect.
It would be good if Friedrich Merz took that to heart. "
Which doesn't change the fact that the CDU would like to include Merz in its election campaign team.
But it is unclear how this can be done: What to do with the Westphalian stubborn Merz, who is always prone to overconfidence, also to stick mistakes, who stands like no other for economic policy expertise such as conservative roots of the CDU?
With a politician who, despite everything, for half of the party delegates still embodies the very Union that the party base in many places longs for?